FTSE 100 movers: Mediclinic surges on upgrade, Persimmon 'pricey'
The FTSE 100, the UK’s primary stock index, traded 0.45% lower on Thursday as sterling continued its rise in a week in which progress appeared to be made in Brexit negotiations.
The most significant movement of the day was from hospital operator Mediclinic International, with the company gaining around 4% in afternoon trading.
Mediclinic benefited from a positive research note analysts at Jefferies, in which it was double upgraded to ‘buy’, having previously been recommended at ‘outperform’. The company was judged to have upside potential based on growth opportunities in the UAE.
Following it was BAE Systems, after the defence contractor agreed to pay more into its pension schemes to recover a £2.1bn deficit by the year 2026.
Also among the day's FTSE leaders was life insurer Aviva, following an increase to its long-term earnings and dividend guidance.
The company also said it has £3bn of excess cash that will be used to pay down £0.9bn debt next year and then be returned via buybacks or acquisitions.
BT Group was up on the back of a Morgan Stanley note that suggested the telecoms group "looks cheap" on a sum-of-the-parts valuation, though analysts were cautious about "stepping in too early" before getting more greater clarity on capex, content rights, pension and dividend. The target price was cut to 290p and its rating remained 'equal-weight'.
Looking towards the bottom of the ledger, pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline was down around 2% after it announced a specialist HIV company it own has progressed to phase III for a new study into its cabotegravir drug.
Housebuilder Persimmon was also among the fallers as some within the construction sector were subject to profit-taking, in a week in which it was boosted by the latest news on Brexit. Analysts at Deutsche Bank wrote a glowing report about the sector, but Persimmon's share price was seen as being the most expensive in the sector on a couple of valuation measures.
Premier Inn and Costa owner Whitbread was affected on Thursday by the release of a trade union survey which detailed the extent of ‘wage theft’ at the company, including staff missing out on rest breaks and not getting paid what they are owed.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Mediclinic International (MDC) 559.50p 3.61%
BT Group (BT.A) 260.55p 2.02%
BAE Systems (BA.) 554.37p 1.91%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 819.00p 1.11%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 3,079.50p 1.10%
Worldpay Group (WPG) 422.40p 1.05%
ITV (ITV) 160.00p 1.01%
Centrica (CNA) 144.21p 0.99%
Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) 429.80p 0.84%
Convatec Group (CTEC) 192.10p 0.52%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Carnival (CCL) 4,754.50p -2.15%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,280.75p -2.05%
Persimmon (PSN) 2,539.00p -2.01%
Prudential (PRU) 1,863.50p -1.92%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,806.50p -1.91%
Old Mutual (OML) 196.90p -1.80%
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 276.60p -1.78%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 8,320.00p -1.77%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 2,961.00p -1.69%
3i Group (III) 900.50p -1.64%